Nintendo 3DS
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 18 handheld game consoles by recommenders
Fans praise its pocketable retro charm, cheap used availability, and homebrew community. Critics mainly point to the low resolution and small screen.
Fans praise its pocketable retro charm, cheap used availability, and homebrew community. Critics mainly point to the low resolution and small screen.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Owners rate it highly
“My house has 5 3DSs in it, which I maintain to this day is the best console ever made.”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “I don’t need a Steam Machine” “the 3DS started out good but got better”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces” “the 3DS is a gem of a console”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “F-Zero X on Nintendo 3DS” Pocketable form factor
“I love the form factor, would be fun to have one as a home automation remote.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Nintendo DS code editor and scriptable game engine” “The 3DS is a fun pocketable form factor which a lot of people already own”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “F-Zero X on Nintendo 3DS” Active homebrew community
“the device has a good homebrew community around it, and is more interesting than something like the switch”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “F-Zero X on Nintendo 3DS” “Overall, I think it is easier for people to get started with 3DS homebrew development”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Introduction to Nintendo DS Programming” Easy to find used
“It is also approachably easy to find a good one in working order, and still has the vibe of a retro console.”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “F-Zero X on Nintendo 3DS” “Bought a brand new 3DS with 4 games this weekend 5 kms away from me for ~50€.”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Low resolution and small screen
“the screen is too small. As objects come closer, they need to get bigger”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Nintendo DS code editor and scriptable game engine” “the generally low resolution was an issue”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Virtual Boy on TV with Intelligent Systems Video Boy” “It was a gimmick, cut the resolution in half, and doubled processing requirements.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Virtual Boy on TV with Intelligent Systems Video Boy” 3D effect seen as gimmick
“I almost always play with the 3D slider off; it's easy for me to see why Nintendo gave up on it.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Virtual Boy on TV with Intelligent Systems Video Boy” “It was a gimmick, cut the resolution in half, and doubled processing requirements.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Virtual Boy on TV with Intelligent Systems Video Boy” “they required all games to work without 3D, so it could never be a core mechanic”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Virtual Boy on TV with Intelligent Systems Video Boy”
Other handheld game consoles people recommend
The four most recommended other handheld game consoles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 143 | 103 | 58% | 12 | 8 yrs12 owners | — |
| Playdate handheld console | 43 | 15 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Sony PlayStation Portable | 24 | 4 | 86% | 5 | 21 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Nintendo 3DSThis page | 21 | 6 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Nintendo DS | 18 | 7 | 72% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
All 28 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the device has a good homebrew community around it, and is more interesting than something like the switch”
“It is also approachably easy to find a good one in working order, and still has the vibe of a retro console.”
“The 3DS has the novelty of 3D.”
“The 3DS is a fun pocketable form factor which a lot of people already own”
“the 3DS is a gem of a console”
“Luckily I was able to but there's no guarantee a physical game will last forever either.”
“very tiring after the first 5 minutes”
“I remember being blown away when I first saw it.”
“Although Nintendo did implement a system that's supposed to prevent it from working on another 3DS.”
“Bought a brand new 3DS with 4 games this weekend 5 kms away from me for ~50€.”
“the worst (non-Microsoft) naming choice of all consoles: the New 3DS.”
“one who owns a 3DS they use”
“I just copied the games that I owned onto an SD card so that I didn't have to worry about my kids losing them anymore.”
“Spotpass and the mini games were fun, the stickers and theming were fun”
“the 3DS started out good but got better”
“I think 3ds is also reasonably in the sweet spot.”
“Overall, I think it is easier for people to get started with 3DS homebrew development”
“only to find out it didn’t come with the proprietary charger”
“I had a 3DS growing up and could browse the web with its very gimped browser”
“A jailbroken 3DS seems like it'd be great for avoiding that kind of slop”
“the screen is too small. As objects come closer, they need to get bigger”
“I love the form factor, would be fun to have one as a home automation remote.”
“they required all games to work without 3D, so it could never be a core mechanic”
“It was a gimmick, cut the resolution in half, and doubled processing requirements.”
“I almost always play with the 3D slider off; it's easy for me to see why Nintendo gave up on it.”
“the generally low resolution was an issue”
“ended up being the best way to play Virtual Boy titles”
“My house has 5 3DSs in it, which I maintain to this day is the best console ever made.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.